by Alys Landale
His thoughts then drifted to the last ship he had been placed on. It had been caught by the Empire and he along with his
Commander and a few others had been the only ones to escape. The fact that Commander Brandwin had not been caught was only due to the fact that she was on a reconn mission inside one of the Empire’s bases.
He wished that she had been there, maybe then Sargon and the others wouldn’t have been captured. He wondered if his best friend was still alive. Sargon had a warrior’s heart through and through. Actually he was more bloodthirsty than anything. The man had practically been raised inside one of those concentration camps. Seeing people being tortured and dying around you could do things to a man. But he was still one of the few men that Danag actually respected.
A sensor bleeped to life on his controls. Danag dismissed his thoughts and concentrated on the matter at hand. On his sensors registered an Imperial shuttle right outside their gates.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. How could he have missed this?
“Is something wrong officer?” asked his commanding officer, Captain Raken.
“Sir I’m registering an Imperial vessel just outside our doors.” Danag prepared for the verbal onslaught that he knew would be coming.
“What?!”
Danag concentrated on his controls instead of the stares from the other officers at their stations. All those who fought in the
Resistance had the same nightmares of Imperial soldiers knocking on the door.
“We’re being hailed sir,” he replied as calmly as possible.
“Well, put them on screen I guess.” No one knew what to think. The Empire was not usually known to converse with those it was about to kill. They would usually just go straight to the punch.
Danag did as he was ordered. The front screen flickered to life and on the other side stood a man at the helm with blue eyes and blond hair as well as a violet-eyed woman with blue hair.
All the faces on the bridge gave a sigh of relief. Aria on the other hand only said, “Well are you going to let us in or what.”
Aria turned to Paris. “Pardon their rudeness. I suppose it wasn’t the best idea to come here in an Imperial shuttle. With the cloak we’ve had on it must have scared at least three lives out of them.”
Tom smiled. “Well, I don’t know about you but I’m just glad to be out of this coffin. It’s a little to small for my taste.”
Aria had sensed his claustrophobia. She only hoped that the welcome they were about to receive would not make him regret those words. Those in the Resistance were trained to be wary of strangers. And ‘wary’ usually translated into shoot first, ask questions later.
“Don’t worry,” Tom told her. “I’ll be fine.”
She looked at him oddly. “Hey, I thought I was the one who got to read your mind not the other way around.” She gave a small laugh as she said this.
“Well, I don’t suppose I play by the rules.”
She was consumed by his eyes once more. She wished to the Three Fates that they would grant her wish. Either to be with this man or to erase all feelings she possessed for him.
Her thoughts were stolen away from her as the doors of the hanger swished open. A man dressed in a dark black outfit approached them. A train of followers behind him added to the tension in the room. Each one of them had a phaser.
“Commander Brandwin, I see you’ve made it back.” The man’s tone seemed less than congenial to Tom.
“Yes, Captain Raken. I see you’ve managed to keep this place in one piece while I was gone.” She remarked with not the slightest bit of humor.
“Well, it’s about time you came back from your little vacation. If you’re going to be a member of the Resistance you must learn to take more responsibility than that.”
*Just who the Hell does he think he is?* Tom asked.
Aria kept her face neutral as she answered his silent question. *Why the lord of this mighty base. Who else?* Paris smiled slightly at her sarcasm.
Captain Raken turned his attention to Paris. “And just who is this Commander? Don’t tell me you’ve been foolish enough to let a spy enter our headquarters.”
Tom stepped forward. “I’m no spy.”
“You think I’ll let my guard down because of that.” Raken chuckled slightly. It was a dry laugh never reaching his eyes. Tom made note to watch out for this one.
“Oh, you don’t want to let your guard down around me. Believe me.”
The Captain took an involuntary step back. There was something in the man’s tone that told said: ‘you don’t want to shit with me.’ He knew not to take that man lightly. He then realized he needed to say something. “I don’t intend to.” Not letting his eyes leave the man before him, he addressed those behind him. “Security, have these two checked out. ‘Make sure’ they’re clean.
I wouldn’t want a spy inside here with us.”
Aria spoke up again. “Captain, trust me, he isn’t a spy.”
“I gave my orders Aria.” He let his gaze move to Aria. It remained there for some minutes then he quickly turned to leave.
Aria let an irate glare rest on the man beside her. *You just had to go and piss him off, didn’t you?*
Paris flashed an innocent smile. *Who? Me?*
An exasperated sigh left her lips. She said nothing more as security ushered them away.
Captain Raken watched the two being escorted away by security. He watched as interested stares turned to Aria’s companion. They had encountered many races before but this was the first that possessed the strangely pigmented hair and eyes. He wondered if the man was a security risk or not. Most likely not. If Aria had brought him then he was probably alright.
His gaze then rested on Aria. He had supreme confidence for her judgment. After all, she was a legendary Nalyan warrior.
That was a species that was so rare that it had been thought extinct. But here she was, fighting by his side in battle. Well, not by his side, but on the same side. She did serve under Captain Brigeg, but now that he was dead, Raken had placed a request that she be placed on his ship.
*She’d make a wonderful addition to my crew.* he thought. He felt a small smile tug at his lips but quickly suppressed it. His grey eyes reacquired their stony expression.
He looked at the alien again. Raken realized that he was not that much different than him. Both were the same height, well maybe the alien was an inch taller, maybe two. They had similar characteristics. The only difference in their structural make-up was the three points on Raken’s ears. That and the obsidian hair that the captain had.
He saw Aria turn to gaze at the blond man. There was something in her eyes that was different than when she looked at him. Her eyes took on a warmer expression when they rested on her companion.
Raken’s attitude turned to disgust. How could she let her stern battle face fall and turn to that of a compassionate one. This man couldn’t be trusted, Raken realized. Aria was a skilled warrior, one of the best soldiers that the Resistance possessed.
Captain Raken couldn’t let this stranger turn her attention from fighting to love. She might be the difference between winning this war of not.
Captain Raken left his hiding place and proceeded to his quarters. He was going to keep a close eye on this one.
Three hours later, Paris walked down the corridor. He had been given the impression that the Resistance was only a band of loosely organized rebels with a few battered up ships. What he saw now amazed him. This base was filled with officers who were monitoring every move the Empire made. By stealing a few brief glances, he was able to view all the material on their screens. They seemed to keep track of almost all the Imperial vessels in the sector. However he knew that ‘seemed’ was the key word in that sentence. Due to the information at Takma’s base, the amount of ships that they were tracking was only a third of those present in the area. Tom knew he was watching heroic people go about their jobs, but heroism alone couldn’t beat a coward with a gun.
&nb
sp; Tom passed a few others. He was conscious of their stares as he passed by them. It seemed that none had ever seen a species like him before. He found this a little unsettling but forced himself not to brood over it.
Aria was the first to pull him out of his thoughts. “I’ll try and arrange for us to meet with Consul Maris. I believe he’s here at the moment. Then we can find some arrangement for you.”
Paris nodded. During their time on the base, they had been separated and while they could still remain in contact with one another it was still good to hear her voice. He had to admit that the processes he had been put through made him extremely uncomfortable. For some reason, he had a certain disdain towards those who composed security. Perhaps it was due to his time as
Takma’s guest, but he had a strong dread of going anywhere near the brig. All the security procedures were beginning to get to him but they had finally let him leave. He didn’t believe it was that they didn’t trust her as much as they didn’t trust him.
“Commander,” came a voice from behind them.
Aria turned around to see a brown-haired man standing in the doorway. He was slightly on the short side but, but few people paid attention to that. Most were caught by his eyes. They the strangest shade of black with yellow pupils.
“Danag,” she said. Aria approached the man and embraced him. Even though she was his superior, she couldn’t help herself when it came to him. He was like her little brother.
“Aria,” he said. “By the Spirit, it’s good to see you.”
She stepped back puzzled. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on the ship?”
He stared at her oddly. “You mean no one has told you yet?”
“Told me what?”
He looked down for a moment before replying. “The Empire attacked us a few days ago. Except for myself and a few others, everyone else was captured. They commandeered the ship after that.”
She stared into space, as she fully comprehended these words. Although she was a telepath, she refused to invade a person’s privacy. It would not be honorable. She had felt feelings of resignation and sorrow around her but that was usual when one worked in these circumstances. But the ship that she had served on for almost two years now was destroyed while she had left it.
“Captain Brigeg?” she asked. “Sargon, Meylin, the others...”
“The captain was killed in battle, as for the others, we think they’ve been taken to a concentration camp somewhere.”
Aria was still in shock over the news. Paris then spoke up. “Well if they’re still alive why don’t you mount a rescue mission to get them out?”
Danag stared in shock at the man who had just addressed him. “Are you crazy?! No one has ever been able to penetrate the defenses of an Imperial camp. Just who do you think you are anyway?”
Paris gave a small smile. “I’m the one who’s about to break them out.”
*
Captain Kathryn Janeway entered the Bridge. Chakotay rose to greet her as usual.
“Captain,” he said.
She smiled. “Chakotay.”
The Commander took in the Captain’s well-rested appearance. “Well, you seem to have had a good nights sleep. I was beginning to wonder if I would need to inform the doctor of your recent insomnia.”
“No need for that, I assure you. My luck, he’d have me in sickbay for a week to make up for all the hours of sleep I lost.”
Chakotay raised an eyebrow. “I’m not so sure that’s such a bad idea.”
Janeway knew he was trying to ask her if she was alright so she beat him to it. “Commander I’m fine. I actually have been able to sleep quite soundly now so you shouldn’t worry yourself over me anymore.”
“Aye, Captain. On another note, Seven informed me that we might be able to remodify our shielding to be more effective in battle. She said it might take a while but it could be done.”
It was Janeway’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “I never thought I’d hear Seven say it would take a while. I thought her Borg pride wouldn’t let her admit that she couldn’t have something completed in the blink of an eye.”
“Well it seems that she’s adapting even more to life on Voyager. I do believe she and Ensign Kim are working on this together. Perhaps if we separated them, she might get done a bit faster.”
Janeway caught on to his teasing. “No, let’s let them play hooky for now. We can scold them later.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Harry’s voice was full of sincerity as he gazed at Seven.
She then replied. “You would most likely be working double shifts to translate this data. However, with my assistance, you will not have to do so.”
Harry smiled. Seven really could work fast. They would run through whatever work needed doing and then sit down and discuss their problems with one another. He knew that she had emotions, but he had never realized how deeply they had run.
Perhaps she hadn’t either. He had helped her sort through her emotions and learn to understand them more fully while she had provided a patient listener to how he felt as well. She had made suggestions and comments upon what she felt he should do. And instead of replying rudely and demeaning him for his human ignorance, she had worded her thoughts carefully and provided him with support. Although she was not as well versed as most in the emotional medium of life, she had really helped him by just being there.
Now he saw the ex-Borg in a new light. He now realized that she had so many more layers than he had first realized. “I meant about listening to me as well. There aren’t many people on this ship that I could talk to about these things. Thanks for listening.”
Seven pushed her attention from her work to the man beside her. For some reason she felt uncomfortable by the compliment, he had given her but also very pleased at the same time. This confused her somewhat. She sensed that she should address him as well.
“There is no need to thank me. You have provided an exceptional interpreter to the emotions, which I have acquired. I am grateful to you for that. Therefore, since we have provided each other with a service, there is no need to thank anyone.”
Harry knew what she was trying to say. She was telling him thank you in her own way as well. It was a very high compliment coming from her. He smiled to her as a response then turned back to his work.
The comm-line then beeped to life. “Doctor to Seven.”
“Seven here.”
“Seven, I need your assistance in sick-bay. I would have asked for Lieutenant Torres’s help, but it is her day off and she seems to be a little moody when awoken to early.” The EMH was using his usual sarcasm; however Seven seemed unaffected by it.
“On my way.” She ended her communication, then turned to Harry. “If you will excuse me.”
“Sure Seven.” Harry watched Seven leave. He couldn’t help but admit that she had the finest ass in the Delta Quadrant.
*The whole universe most probably* he concluded. He then admonished those thoughts. He had just gotten over his infatuation with the ex-Borg, he couldn’t go through that again.
He turned his thoughts back to his work. There was no way he could fall in love with Seven. There was no way.
*
Paris stared at the faces around him. Aria had managed to convince the superiors in the base to meet with him to discuss his plan. She didn’t know what he was up to but she sensed he knew what he was doing.
Paris had been compelled to take action after feeling the heartbreak of Aria when she had heard the news. It was like a piece of him was dying as well. So now here he was, in a room with what appeared to be the elite few who commanded ships in the Resistance. Aria sat next to him.
He went over his plan again. “So if we could send two maybe three Fighters to provide a distraction, myself along with a small away team could use the Imperial shuttle and dock with the shuttle-bay of the concentration camp. Once in we can plant explosives at the main power juncture. That should disable their sensors for a few minutes along with an
y weapons they might have.
We could take the prisoners to the open arena in the center of the complex. From there, we should be able to move them onto the backup shuttles that will be waiting on the other side of the planet. After that we, pack up and haul our asses out of there.”
The men around the table looked at him suspiciously. Finally, one spoke up. “Even if we could get you inside, just how would you be able to get through any of their security systems to where the prisoners are held? You can’t just shoot your way through a complex that size.”
Aria smiled. “Captain Raken, let me assure you that security will not be a problem.” Just before he could launch an argument, Commander Brandwin turned to Tom. “Show them.”
Tom raised his hands from under the table. Somehow, he had managed to hide them through his stay. All eyes grew two sizes larger as they watched the tentacles that surrounded his hand straighten out and form four long spikes.
“What the Hell are you.” Danag asked. His rank wasn’t as high as any of the others at the table but he had still been allowed to be present for the meeting. That was one good thing about the Resistance, very little protocol.
Tom allowed the blades to resume their tentacle form and wrap around his hand. “I suppose I’m one of Takma’s science projects gone wrong.”
The man at the head of the table finally said something. He was in what would constitute for a human’s age of forty. He had grey hair and appeared human in every sense. All except for the pointed ears. They weren’t anything like Aria’s, instead they were more like Tuvok’s aside from the fact that they had three points instead of one. He spoke. “And you can provide us with a way to get inside the base.”
Tom nodded. “I can hack through any computer you put in front of me. All I need is a distraction to give me a reason for docking there. If they think that I had stopped by for fear of being destroyed by Resistance Fighters, they might lower their shields.”